The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-06-24
ROWAN COUNTY'S VENDETTA
The Causes of the Bitter Feud Which Has
Cost More than Score of Lives.
The Story of the Desperate, Bloody and Dead
ly Encounters Which Have Made the Coun-
ty Famous All Over the United States.


Rowan county synonym for lawlessness
and crimes not easy to get at. Amid the
varying claims of the Tollivers and the Martins,
the mass of coun Ter statements, accusations and
recriminations it is almost impossible for one to
obtain true statement. The feud of the Toli-
vers and Martins dates from the August election
Of 1884. and. like nearly all these mountain ven
dettas, originated in politics, and the hatred of
the hostile families has probably been famed
and kept alive by shrewd politicians wishing to
turn these things to their use. In 1884 Cook
Humphrey, young mar of twenty-five and a
Republican and Sam Gooden, Democrat, were
candidates for sheriff of Rowan county. which,
on a full vote, had ordinarily gone Democratic
by q small majority. The contest was bitter
The mountaineer is intense politician. He
mad rather die than forswear his party, and Is
ready to believe that man on the other side
would poison his father. Gooden lived In More.
head, and Humphrey resided on his fathers
farm about seven miles from the county town.
Election day came, and Humphrey was elected
BY a majority of twelve votes.
On this election day occurred the first trag
edy william Trumbo and man named Price
uzareled, ands contrary to the mountain rule,
which calls for rifles pistols, were fighting
with their fists. John Martin a of Ben
Martin, a well-to-do old farmer who lives one
mile aud half from Morenead, was struck in
the face with heavy instrument, and one of
mis- teeth was knocked out and his forehead
badly bruised. He afterward said that John
Day and Floyd Tolliver struck him. He
sprang to his feet and pistols were drawn.
Solomon Bradley, a middle-aged man, with
seven children, was standing near, and was
shot dead, receiving two bullets through the
aai1 hat hot
him. The Toivers claimed that John Martin
did it. There were quite a number Of wit
nesses, but no court ever decided who did it.
AID Scyremore another man who not con-
cerned in the controversy was shot in the neck
but not fatally wounded. This began the feud.
In this killing origin ated the hatred of the Toll
Iiyers and the Martins and as the relatives OF
each family allied themselves to their kindred,
almost the entire county, with reinforcements
from Carter, Elliott and other surrounding
counties, was involved
Aswas before stated. old man Martin lived
mile and half from Morehead. His son John
resided near by. Another son. Will, was citi-
zen of Morehead, and still a third. Dave, resided
in Carter county. The Tollivers were several
in number Marion, Craig and Floyd were
brothers. Marion and Craig lived in Morgan
county and Floyd in Rowan. Bud, Jay and
Wiley Tolliver, their cousins. were inhabitants
of Elliott county Friends of theirs were Mace
Keeton Jeff and Alvin Bowling, Tom Allen
Day John Day, Boone Day, Mich Day, Jim
Arksley, Bob Messer ard others All were
Democrats.
The Martins were Republicans, and friends of
Cook Humphrey. who, with his brother Cave
had during boyhood boarded at their house and
gone to school in Morehead. Howard Logan
was another friend of Humphrey, and so was
Mat Cary, the county clerk. All were Republic
ans and they nursed the luminosity resulting
from the death of Solomon Bradley.
The second man to fall was Floyd Tolliver.
The account of the Martin faction is as follows
In the December following the August election
John Martin went to Morehead in order to pay to
John Tippit a small debt he owed him. There
he met John Day, Sam Gordon and FLOYD Toll
liver. The latter went up to Martin and said:
John, you have been wanting to bulIdoze
me, but am not going to permit it."
III haven't tried to bulldoze you Floyd" re-
piled Martin.
eyes. by G.. you have" returned Tolliver
and am not going to permit It. want you to
understand me-"
Martin turned and walked into the bar room
of the hotel now called the Gault House, and
was followed by Toliver, Day and Gordon
naming behind. Inside Tolliver repeated the
same threat, and put his hand in his pocket.
"Well, if you must fight" exclaimed Martin,
81 am ready for you"
Both drew their pistols but Martin was first,
and as his weapon exploded. Toiiiver fell back;
mortally wounded. His friends rushed in and
Tolliver, raising himself in his dying agonies,
said to them:
boys, remember what you swore to do; you
said you would kill him, and you must keep
-FOUR word"
This is the story of Floyd Tolliver's death,
as related by the Martins. The other faction
deny these statements. They claim that it was
Martin that picked the difficulty; that Floyd
rolliver was not endeavoring to draw his pistol,
and that he was slain committing no
offehse John Martin gave himself to
the authorities. The members of the Toll
liver faction were greatly enraged at the death
II Floyd, and Martin was put on the train and
carried to the Winchester Jail, IN order to pre-
vent him from being lynched. He had been
there six days, when five man arrived with an
order. signed by the proper authorities com
mandng the return of Martin to the Jail at
Morehead. The Martins say that these five men
we're Alvin Bowling, Edward and Milt Evans,
Ind two others named Hall and Easterln. The
,der they had was forged. The jailer gave Mar
lin TO them, although the latter prayed him not
TO do So Martins wife was in Winchester. and
she started back TO Morehead on the same train
that had her husband, although she was
aware of the fact
The men put Martin on the train and after
dark started back to Morehead. When they
reached Farmers, little town in Rowan coun-
ty, a few miles west of Morehead, the train
boarded by large body of masked men. Martin
sitting handcuffed on a seat of Coach SO, of
the Chesapeake e. Ohio railroad. The men drew
their pistols and filed him with lead. Although
3hot many times. he did not die until the train
reached Morebead, and his wife knew not that
her husband was on the same train until she was
called TO see him die The perpetrators of this
deed have never been punished.
The third victim was also Martin man, and
deputy of Cook Humphrey. This was the worst
of all the Rowan county outrages Stuart Bum
gardner was the man who fell Hewas a native
of Elliott county, bnt had lived a few years in
Rowan. While riding along the Morehead and
Martinsburg road about six miles from More
head near the headwaters of Christie creek, in
Rowan county. he shot from ambush and
killed. 1t occurred in March, 1885. The names
of the perpetrators of the decd have never been
made known, although old Mrs. Martin says the
grand jury of Rowan county could ascertain
who the guilty men, if il desired The mail
carrier from Martinsburg. which is the county
seat of Elliott, to Morehead discovered the body.
1t was literally torn to pieces. Several charges
of buckshot had been fired into the chest and
neck, and there were numerous bullet holes in
other portions OF the body. Nearly svery drop
o. blood mad run out OF him. and his remains
lay in puddle of gore, the stains of which could
be seen in tbs road for months after Two boys
named Blair came TO the assistance Of the mail
carrier, and the body was borne to the house of
. neighbor and given burial The Martins as
sribed the murder TO the Tolliver gang
In the following month Taylor Young, the
county attorney of Rowan county, was shot